1. Field of Disclosure
The invention is generally related to lubricants and, in particular, to perfluoropolyether lubricants for magnetic media disks in hard disk drive applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Lubricants, such as boundary lubricants, are used in many types of mechanical devices including disk drives and microelectronic mechanical systems. Such devices typically include a moving part that is lubricated to prevent wear. The moving part moves relative to other parts of the device. Boundary lubricants form a lubricating film when functional groups of the lubricant attach to the surface being lubricated. Boundary lubricants, among other advantages, limit solid-to-solid contact.
In an effort to increase disk drive capacity, industry is seeking to reduce flying height. However, lower flying height can induce severe slider/lubricant interactions. For example, slider/lubricant interactions can create moguls, ripples, and depletion in the lubricant on the surface. In addition, lubricant can gather on a leading edge of the slider, forming drops that fall onto the disk surface, leaving thick regions. As a result, the thicker regions, moguls, and ripples can cause errors in reading the disk, whereas regions without lubricant may permit surface scratching in the disk or damage to the head of the disk drive.